Security architecture with environment sensitive credential sufficiency evaluation

Abstract

By including environment information in a security policy, a security architecture advantageously allows temporal, locational, connection type and / or client capabilities-related information to affect the sufficiency of a given credential type (and associated authentication scheme) for access to a particular information resource. In some configurations, time of access, originating location (physical or network) and / or connection type form a risk profile that can be factored into credential type sufficiency. In some configurations, changing environmental parameters may cause a previously sufficient credential to become insufficient. Alternatively, an authenticated credential previously insufficient for access at a given trust level may be sufficient based on a changed or more fully parameterized session environment. In some configurations, the use of session tracking facilites (e.g., the information content of session tokens) can be tailored to environmental parameters (e.g., connection type or location). Similarly, capabilities of a particular client entity (e.g., browser support for 128-bit cipher or availablity of a fingerprint scanner or card reader) may affect the availability or sufficiency of particular authentication schemes to achieve a desired trust level.

Description

1. Field of the InventionThe invention relates to information security, and more particularly, to systems and method for improving the security of information transactions over networks.2. Description of the Related ArtThe internet has become an important medium for information services and electronic commerce. As the internet has been commercialized, organizations initially established their presence in cyberspace by making information (typically static, non-sensitive promotional information) available on resources well removed from the operational infrastructure of the organization. Security issues were often addressed by isolating publicly accessible resources (e.g., web servers) from more sensitive assets using firewall techniques. As long as the publicly accessible information and resources were relatively non-sensitive and user interactions with such information and resources was not mission critical, relatively simple firewall techniques were adequate. Though information and ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Though information and resources outside the firewall were at risk, the risk could generally be limited to non-proprietary information that was easily replaceable if compromised.

Second, even information-only services are increasingly mission-critical to their providers.

Corporate image can be adversely affected by unavailability of, or degradation access to, otherwise non-sensitive information such as customer support information, product upgrades, or marketing and product information.

Because many businesses rely heavily on such facilities, both unauthorized modification and denial of service represent an increasing threat.

While it is possible to field individualized security solutions for each information service or transaction system, individualized solutions make it difficult to maintain a uniform security policy across a set of applications or resources.

Furthermore, individualized solutions tend to foster incompatible security islands within what would ideally be presented to consumers or business partners as a single, integrated enterprise.

For example, a user that has already been authenticated for access to an order processing system may unnecessarily be re-authenticated when accessing an order status system.

Worse still, a set of individualized solutions is typically only as good as the weakest solution.

A weak solution may allow an enterprise to be compromised through a low security entry point.

Another problem with individualized solutions is a veritable explosion in the number of access controls confronting a user.

Administrators are faced with the huge problem of issuing, tracking and revoking the identifiers associated with their users.

As the "user" community grows to include vendors, customers, potential customers, consultants and others in addition to employees, a huge "id explosion" faces administrators.

In some configurations, changing environmental parameters may cause a previously sufficient credential to become insufficient.

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